Reframing Academic Leadership

Summary (from the publisher): "Colleges and universities constitute a special type of organization; and their complex mission, dynamics, personnel structures, and values require a distinct set of understandings and skills to lead and manage them well." --From the preface in Reframing Academic Leadership,  Lee G. Bolman and Joan V. Gallos offer higher education leaders a provocative and pragmatic guide for: crafting dynamic institutions where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, creating campus environments that facilitate creativity and commitment, forging alliances and partnerships in service of the mission, building shared vision and campus cultures that unite and inspire, and serving the larger goals of the academy and society.

Throughout the book, the authors integrate powerful conceptual frameworks with rich and compelling real-world cases to support academic leaders searching for the best in themselves and in their institutions. The book tackles thorny issues such as building institutional clarity and capacity, managing conflict, coping with difficult people, partnering with the boss, and developing leadership resilience.

Following in the tradition of Bolman and Deal's classic Reframing Organizations,  Bolman and Gallos emphasize a pragmatic approach. They tease out the unique challenges and opportunities in academic leadership and provide ideas, tools, and encouragement to help higher education leaders see more clearly, feel more confident, and become more skilled and versatile in handling the vicissitudes of daily life. Reframing Academic Leadership is the resource for those seeking to understand, develop, and manage colleges and universities.

Review: I read this book as part of a class on educational leadership for my Master of Education program. Overall, the book does a great job discussing issues relating to higher education leadership, and strategies for improving leadership style. This book is organized around the principle of "reframing" or "a deliberate process of shifting perspective to see the same situation in multiple ways and through different lenses" (13).  The last section of the book was particularly helpful since it addressed topics that most educational leaders will address including: managing conflict, leading from the middle, leading difficult people, managing your boss, sustaining health and vitality, and feeding the soul.

My favorite part of this book was the way each chapter opened with a detailed example of a higher education leader faced with an opportunity or challenge and how they approached it. The text then uses this to start the conversation about a particular issue related to higher education, and will occasionally reference back to the example. Both positive and negative leadership examples were included to illustrate the book's points. For example, the book uses the example of President Quixote, who had a vision for his college, but tried to implement it in a heavy handed and overbearing way, leading to fear, discord, and division at his college. For me, these concrete examples of real individuals facing challenges was the most beneficial aspect of the book because it provided a frame of reference, and grounded the text in specific examples that made the concepts easier to grasp. 

While this is mostly a resource book for those employed in higher education, I think its a highly readable and largely enjoyable text that deals with concrete issues. 

Stars: 3